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NEW YORK (AP) — A chokehold used by a white police officer on a black New York City man during his arrest for selling untaxed, loose cigarettes last month caused his death, the medical examiner announced Friday, ruling it a homicide.

Eric Garner, 43, whose videotaped confrontation with police has caused widespread outcry and calls by the Rev. Al Sharpton for federal prosecution, was killed by “the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police,” said medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer.

Asthma, heart disease and obesity were contributing factors, she said.

Chokeholds are prohibited by the New York Police Department. The case is being investigated by prosecutors on Staten Island, though Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Justice Department is “closely monitoring” the investigation.

The NYPD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the medical examiner’s ruling. The officer who put Garner in the chokehold was stripped of his gun and badge pending the investigation, and another was placed on desk duty. Two paramedics and two EMTs were suspended without pay.

Police Commissioner William Bratton has said the officer appeared to have placed Garner in a chokehold and has ordered a top-to-bottom redesigning of use-of-force training in the NYPD.

In provocative comments Thursday, Sharpton called for the officers to be charged criminally. Sharpton believes chokeholds are used disproportionately on minorities.

Joie Sellers is an angel now dancing in heaven with a smile. She was a 12 year girl full of life and dreams. She was a friend of my niece. They were friends at the age of 5. A few weeks before Joie was killed in a hit and run, my niece, sister, Joie, and her mother along with a bunch of kids with their parents were at Coney Island celebrating the end of school. They were welcoming the summer by going on rides, eating cotton candy, and talking about how they made it through the 7th grade. I did not know Joie but my sister shared with me how Joie was a very sweet, kind, and caring girl. She always had a smile and was respectful to everyone she met. I was touched and heartbroken by her story. Joie’s mother and sister were also badly injured in the accident. They had to go through surgery. They are now recovering and dealing with the very sad news of Joie’s death. Please say a prayer for the family. Here is the story: http://7online.com/news/suspect-in-custody-in-hit-and-run-that-left-child-dead-2-critical/153144/

A 16-year old girl who says she was drugged and raped at a party spoke out on Houston local TV about how it felt to have images of her alleged assault circulated around social media.While rape victims are are usually kept strictly anonymous, some survivors are beginning to speak out against their attackers, especially when the assault makes its way onto social media. Daisy Coleman, the Maryville teen who was viciously cyberbullied after she publicly accused a fellow high school student of raping her, was one of the first survivors to publicly identify herself, but others are following suit. Some victims have even taken to Twitter to publicly discuss their experiences with sexual assault.

“Anonymity has always been the default,” said Jennifer Marsh, VP of Victim Services at Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. “But in the cases we’ve seen recently—everything is already out there. Her face was out there. So at that point it’s a question of regaining control of the narrative of what happened to you.”

The Houston teen, identified only as Jada, said she went to a party with friends where the host gave her a drink she now believes was spiked with a drug. She passed out, and doesn’t remember anything from when she was unconscious. It wasn’t until Jada saw disturbing pictures and tweets on social media, that she believed she’d been raped. “Everybody knows,” Jada told KHOU 11. “And everybody’s texting me are you OK? You’re going to be OK, and I was like alright.” (TIME doesn’t usually identify rape victims, but we are making an exception in this instance because Jada wanted to come forward.)

It’s not immediately clear who originally tweeted the photos, because the photos have been mostly removed and some Twitter handles of people close to the incident have been de-activated. But the pictures soon went viral under the hashtag #jadapose, allegedly referring to the position of her body in the photographs. The alleged rapist was reportedly denouncing Jada and her story before his Twitter account was deactivated, including one tweet that said “HOW ITS RAPE? YOU HAD 2 MONTHS TO SAY SOMETHING BUT YOU AINT SAY [SH*T] TILL YOU GET EXPOSED?”

The original photographs have since been reported and mostly removed and Jada’s supporters have started a Twitter backlash and used the hashtag in her defense.

And now she’s angry. “I had no control,” said Jada. “I didn’t tell anyone to take my clothes off and do what they did to me.”

The circumstances of Jada’s decision to come forward are truly horrific and no teenager should have to endure the double violation of a rape and then a social media maelstrom at her expense, and no victim should feel she has to identify herself in order to stop abuse. But maybe there’s a silver lining in this strategy for survivors. By coming forward, Jada traded her anonymity for a face and a voice, and with identity comes a certain kind of power. Watch her interview with KHOU reporter. http://time.com/2973759/16-year-old-gives-television-interview-after-alleged-rape-photos-went-viral/

Brian Banks was a young man wrongly accused and convicted of rape when he was only a high school student. He was successful on the high school football team. He was only 17 years old when he had to serve 5 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Justice has been served Wanetta Gibson the woman who accused him now has to pay Brian 2.6 million dollars for lying. Brian was exonerated in 2012. But Brian does not want to focus on Wanetta. He wants to focus on playing football for the Atlanta Falcons. He signed with them last week. Read more http://www.vice.com/print/why-mens-rights-activists-are-celebrating-the-brian-banks-case-for-the-wrong-reason

On my way to work on Thursday, I walked pass a news stand and noticed the headlines Why the ‘bully-killing’ teen finally snapped.” I had to stop to read more. According to the New York Post, the young teen was “beaten, mocked, and tormented by his classmates.” I was sad to hear of this young boy constant bullying and also sad to hear he killed another young boy who was misguided. When will the Bullying end? How can we end Bullying? Please share your comments. This is very serious. http://nypost.com/2014/06/19/bully-killing-teen-was-afraid-for-his-life/